Crops
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The terrible drought that covers most of northern and central Georgia, Alabama and parts of the Carolinas has had many impacts on crops and pastures in the region. Another impact has been on landscaping and turfgrasses. The Center for Urban Agriculture has a new article by Greg Huber on what turf managers need to do…
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The Packer reported this morning that in spite of some losses from Matthew to green beans and other vegetables, most crops are doing well and should provide plenty of produce for markets this fall. Planting was delayed in some areas and the wet conditions added some stress to newly planted seedlings, but most of those…
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Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and one that has been linked to farming in several ways. Ruminants produce methane as part of the digestive process, rice paddies release methane through fermentation, and clearing land by burning forests or draining wetlands can all produce methane. But the amount of methane being released into the atmosphere…
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Earlier this week Al Jazeera published an interesting story about a new facility in southern Australia that grows 15 percent of the entire production of tomatoes in that country without using soil, fresh water and fossil fuels. According to the story, Sundrop Farms explained its sustainable growing methods this way: “Tomatoes are grown hydroponically in…
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The Guardian posted a story this week describing the negative impacts of recent climate extremes on wine production around the world. Among the hardest hit areas is South America, which could particularly affect the production of malbec, a popular variety from Argentina and Chile. South Africa is set to report a 19% fall, but the…
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The Southeast Farm Press published an article today looking at early results of growing olive varieties in northern Florida. There are also some test groves in Georgia and a lot of interest by other farmers in adding this new crop into the mix of options. You can read the preliminary results here.
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The Southeast Farm Press had an excellent slide show on damage to North Carolina farm fields caused by the flooding from Hurricane Matthew here. Many fields were completely submerged, ruining soybeans and cotton as well as other crops. These pictures were taken by Hyde County Extension Agent Andrea Gibbs. She credits helicopter pilot Sid Cayton of…